While the committee has suggested Rs 200 per square metre as development charges for commercial and industrial category, the charges for residential construction have been left unchanged.

Presently, the civic body is charging Rs 120. The civic administration had proposed a hike in the development charges for commercial and industrial constructions to Rs 250 per square metre. It was scaled down following the objections raised by the standing committee members belonging to the opposition. While the development charges for commercial and industrial constructions in the neighbouring Ulhasnagar are Rs 140 per square metre and 105 per square metre respectively, the charges in Mira-Bhayander and Navi Mumbai are Rs 120 per square metre and Rs 150 per square metre. The present rates were fixed by the KDMC in 1997 and did not change in the last 12 years.

An annual revenue of Rs 6 crore is collected as development charges on construction activities. At the rate of Rs 250 proposed by the administration, the civic body was hoping to make Rs 2 crore more in the next financial year. However, after bringing down the amount to Rs 200 per square metre, the civic administration is hoping to earn Rs 1.2 crore.

“We are aware that development has come to standstill. In the last four months, there has not been a single development proposal that has been put up for approval before the KDMC. We are hoping that the situation (recession) would change in the coming months,” said Waman Mhatre, chairman of the standing committee. He added that the developers would obviously pass on the burden of hike in development charges to the buyers.